San Diego's first bike corral to open today in Hillcrest

Photo credit: Hillcrest Business AssociationThe bicycle corral at Fifth and University Avenues.

SAN DIEGO -- The first city-owned bike corral, located in Hillcrest on Fifth Avenue just north of University Avenue, will officially open today during a noon ribbon-cutting ceremony.

San Diego City Councilmember Todd Gloria, bicycle advocates, neighbors and business owners will celebrate the completion of the corral, which provides dedicated on-street parking for 12 bicycles in the space normally taken by one parked car.

Parking is a known challenge throughout Hillcrest, and providing more parking for bikes will encourage local business patrons to choose bicycle transportation over cars. The Uptown Community Parking District provided funds to complete the bike corral to address the parking shortage. A grant from the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) was also used to fund a large portion of this project

For some time, The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and local business owners have advocated for more bike facilities throughout the city and additional corrals are in the works for other neighborhoods with strong interest in promoting bicycling.

The corrals have proven to be a successful addition to bike systems in many other cities across the country from Portland to Pittsburgh.

In celebration of the bike corral’s completion, Snooze Eatery, located at 3940 Fifth Ave., will donate 100% of the proceeds from today’s sales of its bike-themed Pancake of the Day to the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.